Outcomes Research calls for papers / meetings & conferences

Call for Abstracts: 39th Association for Gerontology in Higher Education Annual Meeting and Educational Leadership Conference

Waves of Change: Charting the Course for Gerontology Education

February 28 - March 3, 2013 St. Petersburg, Florida

JUNE 20, 2012:

Abstract Submission deadline
Pre-conference Institute deadline

The AGHE Annual Meeting and Educational Leadership Conference is the premier national forum for discussing ideas and issues in gerontological and geriatric education. Educators, clinicians, administrators, researchers, and students share their experiences, expertise, and innovations regarding teaching and learning about aging and older persons. Plan now to be part of this opportunity for professional growth and development.

Upon completion of the Annual Meeting, participants will be better able to:

Describe educational programs and models addressing gerontology and geriatric content at a variety of higher education and learner levels

Understand key educational public policy issues as they relate to funding for higher education and work force preparedness

Identify factors that facilitate gerontology and geriatric education program growth and sustainability

Utilize educational evaluation methods to document learner outcomes and program value

Compare and apply teaching materials, methods, and tools in a variety of content areas to improve their institution’s educational programs

Develop collaborative opportunities in the scholarship of teaching and learning, with national and international colleagues in the field of aging

Strengthen the learning experiences and mentoring available to students in the field of gerontology and geriatrics education

Call for Abstracts: International Society for Disease Surveillance Annual Conference

The ISDS Annual Conference is the premier event dedicated to the advancement of the science and practice of biosurveillance. This year’s theme, Expanding Collaborations to Chart a New Course in Public Health Surveillance, will highlight the importance of working together across agencies, sectors, and disciplines to improve surveillance methods and population health outcomes. The conference will be held at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marina in San Diego, CA, December 4-5, 2012, with Pre-Conference Workshops on December 3rd.

The ISDS Conference draws professionals from a broad range of disciplines— epidemiology and computer science to mathematical modeling and health policy—to learn and contribute the latest achievements, methodologies, best practices, conceptual frameworks, and technical innovations in the rapidly evolving field of biosurveillance. This year's conference will provide fertile ground for cultivating new ideas and partnerships with roundtable discussions, panels and other opportunities to collaborate.

The scope of this conference includes all of the components, policies, methods, practices, infrastructure, research and evaluation related to timely surveillance of communicable diseases, chronic diseases and injuries. This includes notifiable conditions, adverse events and emerging/novel threats; biological, chemical, and radiological health threats; plant, animal, and food surveillance; and environmental monitoring.

Questions regarding the Call for Abstracts may be sent to Tera Reynolds, ISDS Program Manager.

Submission deadline: September 6, 2012 (11:59pm Eastern Daylight Time)

Authors notified of acceptance: October 3, 2012

Pre-Conference Workshops: December 3, 2012

Annual Conference: December 4-5, 2012

Submission Types

Note: All abstracts for the ISDS Conference will be submitted using ScholarOne. There is a limit of 4810 characters for the text of your submission. The character count includes spaces. The character count WILL include title, authors, institutions, tables, and images, but WILL NOT include presenting author brief biographical summaries (bios) or the abstract summary that will be used in the conference program.

Oral

All abstracts submitted for oral presentation are automatically considered for poster presentation as well. Include the following components when submitting an abstract for oral presentation:

· Title (85 characters MAX)

· Objective

· Introduction

· Methods

· Results

· Conclusions

· Acknowledgements

· References

· Names and affiliations of authors

· Brief bio of lead author/intended presenter (450 characters/75 words)

· Brief summary (600 characters/100 words) of submission to be used in conference program

Poster

Include the following components when submitting an abstract for poster presentation:

· Title (85 characters MAX)

· Objective

· Introduction

· Methods

· Results

· Conclusions

· Acknowledgements

· References

· Names and affiliations of authors

· Brief bio of lead author/intended presenter (450 characters/75 words)

· Brief summary (600 characters/100 words) of submission (for potential inclusion in conference program)

Panel *New for 2012*

Panel topics should be a specific aspect of design, theory, application, or experience pertaining to the science or practice of biosurveillance. Suggested panels should be comprised of no more than four participants and a moderator. A typical panel session will consist of four 15 minute presentations, each followed by 5 minutes of questions, with 10 minutes for closing discussion (presentation lengths will be subject to change based on final agenda). When submitting an abstract for a panel, include the following components:

· Title (85 characters MAX)

· Objective

· Introduction

· Panel description

· How the moderator intends to engage the audience in discussions on the panel topic

· Names of panel presenters, moderator and affiliations

· Brief bios for each panel presenter and moderator (450 characters/75 words each) for abstract reviewers to assess appropriateness to serve on the panel for the described topic

· Brief summary (600 characters/100 words) of panel to be used in conference program

Roundtable *New for 2012*

Roundtables can have up to three facilitators to briefly introduce the topic of interest and facilitate active discussion among attendees. Roundtables must be discussion-oriented rather than didactic, lecture-driven sessions. Roundtable discussions will be 60-90 minutes (depending on final agenda). When submitting an abstract for a roundtable, include the following components:

· Title (85 characters MAX)

· Objective

· Introduction

· Roundtable description

· How the facilitator intends to engage the audience in the roundtable discussion, including sample questions

· Names of facilitators and affiliations

· Brief bios for each facilitator (450 characters/75 words each) for abstract reviewers to assess appropriateness to lead a discussion on the described topic

· Brief summary (600 characters/100 words) of roundtable to be used in conference program

System Showcase Demonstrations *New for 2012*

System showcase demonstrations will be presented during the evening poster session on the first day of the conference. A typical demonstration will illustrate one or more aspects of an innovative population/public health surveillance system that is in use or under development. Demonstrations of open source and/or free products are strongly encouraged. System showcase demonstrations are not intended to be marketing or sales presentations and such submissions will be rejected; those interested in supporting the ISDS conference with an exhibit booth should contact Tera Reynolds at ISDS for more information. When submitting an abstract for a system showcase demonstration, include the following components:

· Title (85 characters MAX)

· Objective

· Introduction

· Description, highlighting benefits to public/population health surveillance and how this demonstration will be a unique addition to the ISDS conference

· Conclusions, including lessons learned and design principles from this demonstration that attendees can take away, even if not using or intending to use the system demonstrated

· Names of demonstrators and affiliations

· Brief summary (600 characters/100 words) of showcase to be used in conference program

Track Descriptions

I. Analytical Methods

a. Analytical Methods: Applied

b. Analytical Methods: Research & Development

This theme is focused on important and novel advances in the field of surveillance methodologies and analytical approaches. Abstracts in the Applied sub-track should describe methods or processes routinely used in a production-type environment. Abstracts in the Research and Development sub-track should describe methods and processes still under development or tested within a research or pilot setting. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

· Analytic evaluation of surveillance components

· Decision support

· Estimating morbidity and impact

· Evaluation of algorithms and systems through epidemic simulation

· Geospatial analysis

· Innovative use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology

· Integrating evidence from multiple sources

· Integration of mathematical modeling and statistical analyses

· New algorithms and evaluation of existing algorithms for cluster and event detection

· Pattern recognition algorithms

· Predictive disease modeling/predictive analytics

· Spatial cluster detection

· Statistical methods and tools for analyzing and interpreting data

· Time series analysis

II. Informatics

a. Informatics: Applied

b. Informatics: Research & Development

Abstracts in the Applied sub-track should describe methods or processes routinely used in a production-type environment. Abstracts in the Research and Development sub-track should describe methods and processes still under development or tested within a research or pilot setting. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

· Advances in methods for classifying data

· Approaches to building interoperable surveillance systems and components

· Borderless data exchange models (e.g. federated information sharing approaches)

· Cloud computing for public health surveillance

· Data integration – acquiring, moving, storing, processing, coding, normalizing, and preparing data for analysis between systems

· Data quality

· Data visualization methods

· Electronic health records and public health surveillance

· Health information exchange

· How clinical information systems can support public health surveillance efforts

· How public health information systems can support clinical efforts

· Informatics lessons learned

· Information and knowledge exchange

· Innovations in public health informatics

· Mobile technologies for public health

· Natural language processing

· Standards and Interoperability Framework (Public Health Reporting Initiative)

· Standards used in public health surveillance

· System architectures for limited connectivity environments and disaster surveillance

· System architectures for surveillance in low-resource environments

· System architectures to leverage HIE for public health surveillance

· System descriptions of real-world solutions to challenging integration problems

· Workforce requirements and training

· Use of social media for biosurveillance

III. Policy (at local, state, federal, international levels)

This theme is focused on sharing successes, challenges or approaches leveraged in the use or development of policy which affects biosurveillance operations and activities. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

· Creating successful surveillance partnerships

· Data sharing policies

· Federal policy agendas

· Funding strategies for surveillance

· How public health surveillance data have been used to inform policy

· International Health Regulations

· Legal/ethical/security/privacy issues in surveillance

· Meaningful Use responses by public health departments

· Policies around social media/leveraging social networks for risk communication, etc.

· Research collaborations to expand evidence-based health policy

· Workforce

IV. Public/Population health surveillance

a. Public/Population Health Surveillance: Practice

b. Public/Population Health Surveillance: Research

c. Public/Population Health Surveillance: Evaluation

This theme is focused on improving the daily processes of timely public/population health surveillance, including detection, signal validation, event characterization, investigation, and response. Abstracts in the Practice sub-track should describe practices routinely used in a production environment and/or deployed in field by public health departments or other agencies. Abstracts in the Research sub-track should describe research related to surveillance, health systems, etc. Abstracts in the Evaluation sub-track should describe evaluations of public/population health surveillance systems, workflows, protocols, etc. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

· Adverse drug events and pharmacovigilance

· Case studies

· Chronic disease surveillance

· Collaboration success stories

· Contact tracing and network analysis

· Disaster/event surveillance

· Disparities surveillance

· Evaluation of surveillance systems

· Infectious disease surveillance

· Influenza-like illness surveillance

· Injury surveillance

· Innovations in biosurveillance

· Integrating surveillance across multiple data sources

· Integrating surveillance systems, e.g. syndromic and reportable diseases

· Linking response with frontline health workers

· Meaningful Use and how it’s changing/not changing surveillance practice

· Measuring vaccine efficacy, coverage, etc.

· Messaging/risk communication (what to say to the public, politicians and media about syndromic systems alerts)

· Mobile technologies for public health

· Novel approaches to communicable diseases surveillance and reporting (e.g., notifiable conditions, MRSA, nosocomial infections)

· OneHealth

· Outbreak detection, characterization and outbreak management

· School and university surveillance

· Situational awareness

· Social media and surveillance

· Surveillance across borders

· Surveillance for refugees and recent immigrants

· Surveillance in resource-limited settings

· Surveillance using ambulatory care data

· Surveillance using inpatient data

· Vaccine-preventable disease surveillance

Call for Abstracts: 2012 Meeting of the International Society of Hydrocephalus and CSF Disorders

The 2012 meeting of the International Society of Hydrocephalus and CSF Disorders (ISHCSF) will be held in Kyoto, Japan from October 19 to 22, 2012 (Hydrocephalus 2012, Kyoto).

Deadline of ‘Abstract Submission’ and ‘Abstract Modification’: June 29, 2012

This meeting will present the latest advances in the clinical care of and research in hydrocephalus and CSF disorders. Through this meeting, we expect to accomplish the ISHCSF mission of pursuing both clinical and basic research of CSF circulation and its related disorders and thereby promoting the best possible care for patients with these disorders.

There has been nearly a hundred-year of CSF research history since the pioneering work of Harvey Cushing. Research has produced many achievements in this field, but unsolved problems remain and challenge us to take the next step toward solving them.

Of course, another purpose of this meeting is to give all participants the opportunity to communicate, discuss freely, and share their recent progress in this field. We warmly welcome all participants and their families from all over the world.

Topics are listed below. Any scientific abstracts in the field of CSF and hydrocephalus are welcome. Accepted papers will be presented. You may select topics and sessions, but the organizing committee will determine the acceptance, type of presentation and session after reviewing all abstracts.

Topics

Definition, Classification
Symptoms and assessment measures
Epidemiology
Neuropathology
Neuropsychology & neuropsychiatry
Adult hydrocephalus
Normal pressure hydrocephalus
Neurodegeneration
Comorbidity
Pediatric hydrocephalus
Developmental problems
CSF-related disorders
Intracranial hypertension
Clinical Trials, Guidelines
Experimental hydrocephalus
CSF physiology
CSF biomarker
Neuroimaging
ICP monitoring, CSF pulsation, Ro
Neuroendoscopy
Shunt devices
Shunt complications
Outcome, Outcome measures
Education, Social aspects
Rehabilitation
Non-surgical treatment
Miscellaneous

Inquiry for Scientific Program
Secretariat:
c/o Department of Neurosurgery, Shiga University of Medical Science
Address: Seta Tsukinowa-cho, Otsu, Shiga 520-2192, JAPAN
E-mail: ishcsf-secretary@umin.ac.jp
Phone: +81-77-548-2257 Fax: +81-77-548-2531

Inquiry for General Information
Management Secretariat:
c/o Congress Corporation
3-6-13 Awajimachi, Chuo-ku, Osaka 541-0047, JAPAN
E-mail: ishcsf@congre.co.jp
Phone: +81-6-6229-2555 Fax: +81-6-6229-2556

Call for Abstracts: Optical Methods for Tumor Treatment and Detection: Mechanisms and Techniques in Photodynamic Therapy XXII

Part of program track on Photonic Therapeutics and Diagnostics Photonics West 2013

2 - 7 February 2013 San Francisco, California

Abstracts Due: 23 July 2012

Conference Chairs
David H. Kessel, Wayne State Univ.; Tayyaba Hasan, Massachusetts General Hospital

Program Committee
Charles J. Gomer, Children's Hospital Los Angeles; Nancy L. Oleinick, Case Western Reserve Univ.; Ravindra K. Pandey, Roswell Park Cancer Institute; Brian W. Pogue, Dartmouth College; Kenneth K. Wang, Mayo Clinic

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been approved by health agencies in several countries for treatment of neoplasia in a variety of sites and has been used for treatment of other pathologic conditions including actinic keratosis, atherosclerosis, and age related macular degeneration (AMD). PDT can be used to target different subcellular sites for photodamage, e.g., the endoplasmic reticulum, lysosomes, mitochondria, and the plasma membrane. Photodamage can elicit cell death by activation of apoptosis, circumventing many common modes of drug resistance.

This conference will emphasize drug development, mechanisms, clinical applications, instrumentation for light delivery and dosimetry determinations along with new information on photodynamic mechanisms.

Abstracts are encouraged dealing with these topics:

drug development and characterization
clinical protocols and outcomes
mechanisms of phototoxicity
techniques for light delivery and dosimetry
tissue optics.

Call for Abstracts: Dynamics of Preparedness Conference

October 22-24, 2012 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The University of Pittsburgh MIDAS National Center of Excellence, in cooperation with the Journal of Public Health Management & Practice and the Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics at the Harvard School of Public Health, invite researchers, graduate students, and post-doctoral fellows to the Dynamics of Preparedness Conference in Pittsburgh, October 22–24, 2012.

Purpose: The past decade has seen unprecedented investments in research on preparedness from many sectors of government and the private sector. Numerous reports have appeared, evaluating the preparedness status of states and communities. Dynamics of Preparedness will convene researchers from diverse disciplines to present, critique, and consider the future of research on emergency preparedness in public health systems.

Dynamics describes the complex interactivity among numerous governmental, private, and voluntary components of public health systems. Systems must adapt to emergencies and disasters —both as individuals, agencies, and organizations and as system components affecting the populations served—in ways that often produce unexpected, secondary impacts. Preparedness includes prevention, mitigation, response, and recovery relevant to infectious disease outbreaks as well as other emergencies and disasters.

Goals:

Compile research on public health systems that support preparedness, specifically highlighting innovative methods and novel approaches.
Critique the rigor and quality of output from this research arena, noting the findings and insights with implications for public policy and practical application.
Catalogue the issues and problems where the evidence base for preparedness policy and practice remains weak as an agenda for future research and seek solution-focused innovations.

Dynamics of Preparedness will feature sessions in:

Data: resources for, as well as barriers and constraints upon, quantitative and qualitative research

Innovations: methodological challenges and novel multi-disciplinary approaches

Outcomes: demonstrations, observational studies, and comparisons focused on the outcomes of response to public health emergencies

Modeling: use of computational, conceptual, and mathematical modeling to explore legal frameworks, resource deployment, and operational efficiency and effectiveness under resource-constrained conditions

Progress of Research: presentation of studies on the critical themes of system sustainability, communications, workforce capabilities, and criteria and metrics and on the cross-cutting issues of legal infrastructure and special-needs populations

Translation: utility and application of research results for policy making and practice

Call for Abstracts: Research perspectives at this conference will include: law and policy—including statutory authorities, organizational structures, and governance characteristics; economic resources—including finances, workforce, physical assets, equipment, and facilities; and operational effectiveness—as measured by performance processes and outcomes, quality improvement and quality assurance, and operational plans and protocols. The Conference will welcome innovative computational researchers who have entered the field of public health systems using methods from systems engineering, mathematical simulation, computational modeling, natural-language processing, Bayesian statistics, and other fields.

Deadline for submission: Friday, June 1, 2012

Selection and Notification: Selected abstract authors will be notified beginning June 30, 2012.

Call for Papers: Third International Conference on Global Trends in Biomedical Informatics, Research Education and Globalization

Organized by the Department of Health Informatics, School of Health Related Professions, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ)

It is our great pleasure to invite you to participate in the Third International Conference on Global Trends in Biomedical Informatics, Research Education and Globalization which will take place on November 15th, 2012 in Newark, NJ, USA.

This conference will provide a unique opportunity for disseminating the latest advances, applications and future trends in the area of Biomedical Informatics. The conference will meet the diverse interests of the delegates - from conceptual, theoretical, practical applications to commercialization. It will be the center of action for health informatics professionals to interact with their peers, meet leaders in the field, learn about new products, and see demonstrations from top healthcare systems and services vendors.

We are inviting original, unpublished research manuscripts in the following areas of interest, but not limited to

Electronic Health Records and Meaningful Use
Healthcare Outcomes Research
Personalized Medicine, Genetic Testing & Biomarkers
Interoperability and Standards in Healthcare
Public Health Informatics, GIS Applications, Disease Mapping & Surveillance
Clinical Informatics including Decision Support & Intelligent Systems
Healthcare Marketing and Outsourcing
Molecular Imaging & Nanomedicine
Privacy, Security and Confidentiality
Healthcare System Intrusion including Bio- and Cyber-Terrorism
Healthcare Disparities Research
Drug Discovery and Clinical Trials
Bio-computations
Nursing Informatics
Modelling and Simulation in Biomedical Research.
Translational Research in Healthcare including Bioinformatics Applications
Controlled Medical Terminologies & Ontologies
Healthcare Quality Research
Intelligent Systems
Mobile devices in Health care
Biomedical Instrumentation, Devices and Signal processing
Telemedicine Applications including Mobile Devices, Health Information Exchange & Service Oriented Architecture for Healthcare

Selected papers will be submitted for publication in the

International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications
International Journal of Medical Engineering and Informatics
International Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Consumer Health Informatics
International Journal of Computational Intelligence and Healthcare Informatics

Highlights of the Conference

State-of-the-Art Overviews by Renowned Experts
Presentation of Scientific and Application Papers
Panel Discussions Exploring Critical Issues of the Day
Demonstrations of Advanced Health Informatics Systems
In-depth Tutorial Sessions in Current State of Art Biomedical Informatics by Eminent Speakers

We are looking forward for your participation to make this event a grand success

Important Deadlines:

Manuscript Submission: September 1, 2012
Decision on Paper Acceptance: September 30, 2012
Submission of Final Manuscript: October 30, 2012

CONTACT DETAILS
Dr. Syed Haque
Chair & Program Director

Ms. Yvonne Rolley
Conference Coordinator
Department of Health Informatics
UMDNJ-School of Health Related Professions
65 Bergen Street, Rm.350
Newark, NJ 07107-3001
Phone: 973 972 6871, Fax: 973 972 8540

Call for Papers: 29th International Seating Symposium

The University of Pittsburgh, Department of Rehabilitation Science & Technology Continuing Education Program (RSTCE) now invites proposals to present at the 29th International Seating Symposium - Building the Future to be held from 8:30 AM Thursday, March 7 to 1:00 PM Saturday, March 9, 2013. Pre-Symposium Workshops will take place on Tuesday, March 5, and Wednesday, March 6, 2013. This ISS will return to Nashville, TN, and the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. The 2011 ISS in Nashville was a big success with record attendance.

Also, based on feedback the Exhibit Hall will open a day earlier on Wednesday, March 6, giving attendees more opportunity to visit the Exhibits. Food and beverage will be available for purchase.

The ISS will once again offer full-day preconference sessions that include the Fundamentals of Wheelchair Seating and Mobility on Tuesday, March 5; and additional preconference workshops on Wednesday, March 6th.

Proposals are now being accepted for Paper and Poster presentations in addition to 1 hour and 2 hour Instructional Courses. For 2013 hands-on programs and advanced sessions are sought to take advantage of the resources in the exhibit hall that will be equipped with a large stage for presentations.

Deadline for Submission of Proposals; May 30, 2012

Proposal Topics

The symposium will include scientific and clinical papers, a research forum, in-depth workshops, panel sessions, and an extensive exhibit hall. Presentations should address the seating and wheeled mobility issues of people with disabilities across the lifespan such as neuromuscular disorders, spinal cord injury and diseases of the spinal cord, orthopedic conditions, systemic conditions, obesity, or polytrauma. Proposals that address service delivery issues including evidence-based practice, models of practice, policy and funding, documentation, and outcomes are also very much encouraged.

Submissions
Abstract submissions will only be accepted via our web-interface.

General Content
Presentations must be educational in format and intent. They must not have the appearance of product promotion, commercial bias, or advertisement.

Call for Abstracts: Controversies in Rheumatology & Autoimmunity

April 4-6, 2013 Budapest, Hungary

Abstract Submission Deadline: November 14, 2012

CORA 2013 unites experts in the fields of rheumatology, allergology and immunology. Join top speakers as they discuss controversial aspects in pathogenesis, clinical features, outcomes and the treatment of rheumatic and autoimmune diseases.

Congress Secretariat

Kenes International
1-3, Rue de Chantepoulet
P.O. Box 1726
CH-1211 Geneva 1
Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 908 0488
Fax: +41 22 906 9140
E-mail: cora@kenes.com

Call for Abstracts: International Congress of Toxicology 2013 (ICT 2013)

Translational Toxicology: From Basic Science to Clinical and Environmental Outcomes

Seoul, Korea, June 30 ~ July 4, 2013

Deadline for Abstract Submission: February 28, 2013

This congress will offer you many opportunities to exchange advanced knowledge on Toxicology. This year’s congress will be comprised of keynote lectures given by world-renowned scholars, in addition to symposiums, workshops, debates, as well as oral and poster sessions.